Synopsis

The Book of LifeProducer Guillermo del Toro teams with director Jorge R. Gutierrez for this visually dazzling animated adventure following a young man named Manolo on his journey though three enchanting realms, where he faces his greatest fears while learning to follow his heart and embrace his future. The Book of Life features the voices of Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Christina Applegate, and Ice Cube. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Breath-takingly Gorgeous with a Dash of Mexican Fl

Posted 3 years ago

kenn

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We can all appreciate the brilliant and gorgeous animated films of Disney, Pixar, or Dreamworks, but let's be honest that they all kind of look and feel the same. They're either selling toys or retelling old fairy tales, and while that doesn't diminish how good they are the animated field has been in desperate need of a kick in the pants for a long time. Actually, what it needed was a dash of spice, or in the case of the visually breath-taking The Book of Life, a dash of Mexican flavor.
Directed with obvious passion by Jorge Gutierrez, The Book of Life is a smorgasbord for the eyes, bursting with colors and energy like an overstuffed piñata. It's good to see a film that doesn't try to diminish its Latin heritage, but embraces it in a universal story of love and friendship based on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, the "Day of the Dead". The story begins simply enough, both narratively and visually, with a museum tour guide (Christina Applegate) introducing a group of kids to a very special exhibit. The story she tells involves powerful gods, best friends, magical realms, and lots of music. It follows the friendship of the passionate Manolo (Diego Luna), the spirited Maria (Zoe Saldana), and heroic Joaquin (Channing Tatum), all of whom are burdened by their families' expectations. Manolo has the heart of a musician but comes from a long line of brave bullfighters, while Joaquin was born to protect the town from a scourge of bandits. Once this part of the story gets into gear, the animation switches to something unlike anything we've seen before, with decorative wooden models reflecting the characters' personalities, and worlds that are never less than festive.
The boys may be pals but they both desire Maria's love, and that's when two scheming gods see fit to make a gamble on the outcome. The villainous Xibalba (voiced by Ron Perlman, confidante of producer Guillermo Del Toro) bets on the brave Joaquin, while his wife La Muerte (Kate de Castillo) chooses Manolo, with control over the "Land of the Remembered" the prize. Fearing he may lose the wager, Xibalba gives Joaquin a special medal imbuing him with courage and invulnerability, which he uses to become a greater hero than his legendary father. Manolo becomes a bullfighter who refuses to kill the animals he faces, bringing shame to the family. When a grown up Maria returns to town, they begin competing for her heart once again, and the gods can't help themselves from meddling.
A fun selection Latin-flavored renditions of Mumford & Sons, Radiohead, and Biz Markie hits give the film a distinct sound, and is a smart way to embrace multiple cultures maximum appeal. You can sense Del Toro's influence in every frame, especially when Manolo is forced to descend into the "Land of the Remembered" and the "Land of the Forgotten"; one a carnivale of colors the other a gloomy wasteland. But the real find here is Gutierrez in his feature debut, and in The Book of Life he's created an animated film with so much passion and soul it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as The Lego Movie, and at least for me it's even better. You can feel the love for his Mexican heritage in every character, from the luchadore-masked priests to the goofy mariachi bands. There's so much to take in that it's impossible to catch it all at once. Fortunately for us, The Book of Life is destined to go the way of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas as an annual holiday classic.

I would recommend this to a friend

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Tommy

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

The Book of Life

Posted 4 years ago

Tommy

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We can all appreciate the brilliant and gorgeous animated films of Disney, Pixar, or Dreamworks, but let's be honest that they all kind of look and feel the same. They're either selling toys or retelling old fairy tales, and while that doesn't diminish how good they are the animated field has been in desperate need of a kick in the pants for a long time. Actually, what it needed was a dash of spice, or in the case of the visually breath-taking The Book of Life, a dash of Mexican flavor.
Directed with obvious passion by Jorge Gutierrez, The Book of Life is a smorgasbord for the eyes, bursting with colors and energy like an overstuffed piñata. It's good to see a film that doesn't try to diminish its Latin heritage, but embraces it in a universal story of love and friendship based on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, the "Day of the Dead". The story begins simply enough, both narratively and visually, with a museum tour guide (Christina Applegate) introducing a group of kids to a very special exhibit. The story she tells involves powerful gods, best friends, magical realms, and lots of music. It follows the friendship of the passionate Manolo (Diego Luna), the spirited Maria (Zoe Saldana), and heroic Joaquin (Channing Tatum), all of whom are burdened by their families' expectations. Manolo has the heart of a musician but comes from a long line of brave bullfighters, while Joaquin was born to protect the town from a scourge of bandits. Once this part of the story gets into gear, the animation switches to something unlike anything we've seen before, with decorative wooden models reflecting the characters' personalities, and worlds that are never less than festive.
The boys may be pals but they both desire Maria's love, and that's when two scheming gods see fit to make a gamble on the outcome. The villainous Xibalba (voiced by Ron Perlman, confidante of producer Guillermo Del Toro) bets on the brave Joaquin, while his wife La Muerte (Kate de Castillo) chooses Manolo, with control over the "Land of the Remembered" the prize. Fearing he may lose the wager, Xibalba gives Joaquin a special medal imbuing him with courage and invulnerability, which he uses to become a greater hero than his legendary father. Manolo becomes a bullfighter who refuses to kill the animals he faces, bringing shame to the family. When a grown up Maria returns to town, they begin competing for her heart once again, and the gods can't help themselves from meddling.
A fun selection Latin-flavored renditions of Mumford & Sons, Radiohead, and Biz Markie hits give the film a distinct sound, and is a smart way to embrace multiple cultures maximum appeal. You can sense Del Toro's influence in every frame, especially when Manolo is forced to descend into the "Land of the Remembered" and the "Land of the Forgotten"; one a carnivale of colors the other a gloomy wasteland. But the real find here is Gutierrez in his feature debut, and in The Book of Life he's created an animated film with so much passion and soul it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as The Lego Movie, and at least for me it's even better. You can feel the love for his Mexican heritage in every character, from the luchadore-masked priests to the goofy mariachi bands. There's so much to take in that it's impossible to catch it all at once. Fortunately for us, The Book of Life is destined to go the way of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas as an annual holiday classic.

I would recommend this to a friend

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kenn

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Top 1000 Contributor

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

The 'Dead' have never been more ALIVE

Masterfully utilizing the full-palette of exuberant imagination (espousing the fine-Art of Joy in particular!). This Mexican-flavored animated dream-scape (also captured in sharply-vibrant 3-D) is unexpectedly entertaining & multi-layered (in terms of Story). It was written & envisioned by Mexican animator Jorge Gutiérrez, but most of the actual computer-animation work for "The Book of Life" was done by 'Reel FX Creative Studios' (located in Dallas, Texas).
But the main reason I wanted to see this film, was because it had been mentioned that super-creative-auteur Guillermo del Toro (of "Pan's Labyrinth" "The Devil's Backbone" and "Pacific Rim" fame), hand-selected this special animation project to co-produce! I surmised by this, that Gutiérrez's "Book of Life" might therefore share at least some of del Toro's Hyper-imaginative vision (with an intrinsically meaningful modern-day morality-play in the mix, for good measure) ==> and was not disappointed, in the least!
It's hard to say too much about this story, without giving away too much (since it has more than a few twists along the way). But suffice to say that it covers all of the following, and more:
a) the power of friendship, camaraderie, and even true love, that can last a Life-time, and beyond!
b) the unpayable debt, and infinite gratitude we owe to our endlessly long-line of ancestors/antecedents (but for whose grace, none of us would even be here!)
c) the gifts of joyful exuberance brought to our American shores by Latin-Mexican culture ==> who else could turn the potentially somber 'Day of the Dead' into a colorful fun-fest befitting the best Mardi-Gras! (seriously, there were moments in this film where I couldn't help but think that the 'Dead' characters appeared to be having a lot more fun than the 'Living' and were also a lot more charismatic/photogenic?!
Anyway, highly recommended ==> setting a very different (upbeat/uplifting) mood for Halloween!! (these 'Dead' could really cheer our downtrodden-World up, more than a bit!)
note: of course I also very much appreciated the many Musical references masterfully applied throughout this Film (and the proverbial power of 'Guitar vanquishing Sword' during one of the key segments!)

I would recommend this to a friend

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Commando

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Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4

Ok but not Pixar.

I like animation and I like animated movies in 3D.
The reason I bought this movie was it was on sale and
even though 3D movies are becoming very rare to find these days, I wanted to at least have this one in my collection before it's no longer available. I gave it a watch and to be honest It's not the best type movie for my liking. Unlike PIXAR and Dreamworks which seemed to find the ballance of Adult Humor and Family / Children presentation... This Movie seemed really more so for the younger audience. I thought the animation was done really well and the 3D at best was delightful. Most animated movies are easy to convert to 3D bluray, more so than a live action movie. The 3D in this offering was focused on depth presentation and not so much on the gimmick in your face pop outs. The movie had some nice moments but unless you have young ones in the house, I doubt this will achieve the level of repeat watching as something offered by Pixar. Is it a bad movie? No. It's just ok.

I would recommend this to a friend

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bluraylover23

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Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3

visually stunning,beautiful back drops.

Posted 4 years ago

bluraylover23

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At first the marionette style characters take a little getting use to,but after awhile you wont even notice them.The costumes are bright and colorful, and very detailed.And when the curtain is finally pulled back to reveal the underworld it is some of the most beautiful backdrops i have ever seen animated or otherwise.The story follows the lives of 3 friends from childhood to adulthood,and how their lives get affected buy two spirits who guard the underworld.It deals with several issues from out growing the shadow of your parents and finding your own identity, love,and even death.For the most part the characters are very enjoyable with the exception of one or two.overall the film has a fresh new look to it.And although it may not instantly become one of your must watch Blu-rays,i definitely feel it has a place in your collection.

I would recommend this to a friend

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DQ716

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Eye catching visuals - good story

Posted 3 years ago

DQ716

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This movie has good pacing. Unlike some others, this movie does not lose focus by telling the story of too many different characters. 90-95% focuses on the hero protagonist. The cultural backdrop of the movie is a nice departure from the run of the mill kid flicks. Hispanic culture and the celebration of the day of the dead is front and center in the movie. It is done tastefully and in a very kid friendly way. These aspects makes for some beautifully colorful backgrounds and intricate character costumes. The plot itself has some pretty simple good vs bad aspects, but it also packs some twists to make this love story story feel fresh. The movie explores the themes of courage, family, love, and forgiveness in a way that will appeal to both kids and parents. I recommend giving this movie to families with kids 5 and up.

I would recommend this to a friend

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SDue

Member

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4

A Great Animated Film

Posted 2 years ago

SDue

Member

There's a lot of great choices for feature animation these days, but The Book of Life stands out for a few reasons. The first is the character designs. Although CGI, the characters are crafted to look like wooden puppets, and the animators succeed completely in making their movements fluid while still maintaining that unique wooden texture and structure. The other reason is the story. The Book of Life is about, well... death. What it means when loved ones die, where they go, and how we carry on honoring their memories while living our own lives. It's a beautiful message that is enacted extremely well. And while the emphasis on death can be maudlin at times, the movie as a whole is very hopeful and upbeat. If you've missed seeing this movie before, don't wait any longer.

I would recommend this to a friend

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Bobby

Member

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

"Moulin Rouge" For Kids!

Posted 3 years ago

Bobby

Member

I was quite skeptical about this movie before seeing it, so it was not watched in theaters. Upon hitting home video, and hearing from some friends that it was good, I rented it. Well, I was quite wrong! The basic story is quite standard, but specifics are original, so it feels fresh.
The animation is stupendous, and every frame is a work of art. The voice acting is just as excellent, with all the actors/ actresses bringing their A game, and being not only convincing, but singing beautifully as well.
The "Moulin Rouge" reference in the title is there for a reason- I can't think of another movie that "Book Of Life" resembles more. Both are crazy energetic, over-the-top, love stories incorporating modern songs, with a dash of surrealism/ magic to give it an extra flourish. 100% amazing!